tidy

adjective

ti·dy | \ ˈtī-dē

How to pronounce tidy (audio)

\

tidier; tidiest

Definition of tidy

(Entry 1 of 3)

1a : neat and orderly in appearance or habits : well ordered and cared for

b : methodical, precise a tidy mind

2 : large, substantial a tidy profit

3 : adequately satisfactory : acceptable, fair a tidy solution to their problem

4 : properly filled out : plump

tidy

verb

tidied; tidying

Definition of tidy (Entry 2 of 3)

transitive verb

: to put in order tidy up a room

intransitive verb

: to make things tidy tidying up after supper

tidy

noun

plural tidies

Definition of tidy (Entry 3 of 3)

1 : a usually compartmentalized receptacle for various small objects

2 : a piece of fancywork used to protect the back, arms, or headrest of a chair or sofa from wear or soil

Other Words from tidy Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about tidy

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Other Words from tidy

Adjective

tidily \ ˈtī-də-lē

\ adverb

tidiness \ ˈtī-dē-nəs

\ noun

Verb

tidier noun

Examples of tidy in a Sentence

Adjective He has always been a tidy person. She earns a tidy salary. They paid a tidy sum for the house. Verb I tidied the house before they arrived.

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective Staff reaction to push-button shifters is mixed, but the setup at least makes for a tidy, unobtrusive center console. — Beth Nichols, Car and Driver, "A 2021 Honda CR-V Hybrid Sidles in to Our Long-Term Fleet," 26 Feb. 2021 If a Mac is sluggish or running short of space, CleanMyMac X is an easy way to keep it clean and tidy. — Mark Sparrow, Forbes, "New CleanMyMac X Works With M1 Macs And Detects Silver Sparrow Malware," 25 Feb. 2021 In a world that struggles to go beyond placing race in tidy boxes, that comment alienated some of his most ardent supporters. — Kurt Streeter, New York Times, "Tiger Woods and Another Terrible Turn of Fate," 25 Feb. 2021 Workers bustle cozily about a printshop making books; clockmakers are busy in a tidy studio filled with gears and wheels; the distillers cluster around a furnace, one leaning on a seated companion’s shoulder to point out something in a book. — Jessica Riskin, The New York Review of Books, "When Engineers Were Humanists," 23 Feb. 2021 Later this year, MIT Press is publishing a collection of Baruch’s essays that probe challenging stories in medicine — situations that don’t bend to easy answers or tidy morals. — Patrick Skerrett, STAT, "Listen: The inaugural First Opinion Podcast: Jay Baruch on writing about medicine," 17 Feb. 2021 The network procedural demands catharsis, and tidy conclusions. — Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, "The Dark Fate of Clarice Starling," 12 Feb. 2021 In a new installation of the work at the Addison Gallery of American Art, three long white tables are strewn with tidy mounds of shattered porcelain cups and saucers. — Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, "At the Addison, Yoko Ono invites you to look and please touch," 4 Feb. 2021 The easiest way for a trans person to get a book deal, it is often grumbled among trans writers, is to sell a memoir that traffics in tidy arcs of self-empowerment, the sombre excavation of trauma, or both. — Crispin Long, The New Yorker, "The Insider Insights of “Detransition, Baby”," 31 Jan. 2021 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb This month, many of us turned to handy storage solutions, including a clever Yamazaki countertop utensil organizer, to tidy up our homes ahead of spring. — Caitlin Sole, Better Homes & Gardens, "10 Best Home Products Our Editors Bought in February and Swear By," 24 Feb. 2021 Easy to tidy away, and perfect for keeping bits and pieces stashed together while travelling. — Popsci Commerce Team, Popular Science, "Stationery sets that make back to school shopping simple," 23 Feb. 2021 Its editor was the fastidious Giovanni Sulpizio of Veroli (1444–1503), a teacher, editor, grammarian, and poet driven to great feats of scholarly activity apparently by the desire that things be made trim and tidy all around him. — Jessica Riskin, The New York Review of Books, "When Engineers Were Humanists," 23 Feb. 2021 All these and more things to tidy up and declutter your bathroom cabinets and drawers, below. — Alexis Bennett, Vogue, "12 Makeup Organizers to Help You Declutter and Simplify Your Beauty Regimen," 23 Feb. 2021 Habitica Habitica adds a bit of gamification to the habit-forming process, turning your efforts to read every day or to always tidy up in the evening into a game—complete with characters, levels, and challenges. — David Nield, Wired, "The Best Apps to Build Better Habits (and Stick to Them)," 31 Jan. 2021 Check out these stories on how to organize your closets, tidy up your kitchen cabinets, and more. — Isabel Garcia, House Beautiful, "The Living Room Is Typically the Messiest Space in the Home, According To a Recent Survey," 11 Jan. 2021 Tidying is a powerful reset, and in my experience, there is no better time to tidy up than at the start of a new year. — New York Times, "Marie Kondo on Tidying Up in a Pandemic," 11 Jan. 2021 But the company has announced a UI overhaul that should tidy up the look and will add features like multiuser support and picture-in-picture video. — Jeff Dunn, Ars Technica, "The Ars Technica ultimate holiday gift guide 2020," 14 Dec. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun There was more to his plan than just keeping the block tidy. — Gary Warth, San Diego Union-Tribune, "This Oceanside homeless encampment has one rule: Keep it clean," 28 Feb. 2021 This is an easy way of keeping them in check and tidy. — Derek Carwood, Better Homes & Gardens, "Moonflower Vine Is the Most Magical Night-Blooming Plant You Can Grow," 22 Feb. 2021 And to keep the room tidy, Pickens suggested adding decorative trays, boxes and bowls. — Tim Mckeough New York Times, Star Tribune, "It's time for a better TV room," 15 Jan. 2021 At the same time, The Art of Falling—a title whose layered cleverness only eventually becomes clear—is perhaps a mite tidy, its strands rather too perfectly braided. — Claire Messud, Harpers Magazine, "New Books," 5 Jan. 2021 The film itself might not wrap up in any sort of tidy or satisfying way, but nothing leading up to the conclusion would lead you to expect something so basic. — Lindsey Bahr, Star Tribune, "Review: A brilliant turn from Aubrey Plaza in 'Black Bear'," 2 Dec. 2020 Sheep crammed into pews; shaggy Wensleydales, tidy Suffolks, Blue Texels, Portlands, Border Leicesters. — National Geographic, "The animals that enrich my life," 26 Nov. 2020 From an all-time great discount on Hulu to a self-cleaning robot vacuum that'll keep your place tidy, these are the 10 best Black Friday deals of 2020. — Tj Donegan, USA TODAY, "Black Friday 2020: The 10 best deals on Sony, Apple, Hulu, Adidas, Roomba and more," 27 Nov. 2020 The temptation arises to contain tragedy in a tidy box, closing the book on its history. — Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, "How to Remember," 24 Nov. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'tidy.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Learn More about tidy

Dictionary Entries near tidy

tidy up after (someone)

Statistics for tidy

Last Updated

28 Feb 2021

Cite this Entry

“Tidy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tidy. Accessed 6 Mar. 2021.

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More Definitions for tidy

tidy

adjective

English Language Learners Definition of tidy

(Entry 1 of 3)

: clean and organized : not messy

: keeping things clean and organized

informal, of an amount of money : fairly large

tidy

verb

English Language Learners Definition of tidy (Entry 2 of 3)

: to make (something) tidy : to make (something) clean and organized

tidy

noun

English Language Learners Definition of tidy (Entry 3 of 3)

British : a container for storing small items

See the full definition for tidy in the English Language Learners Dictionary

tidy

adjective

ti·dy | \ ˈtī-dē

\

tidier; tidiest

Kids Definition of tidy

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : well ordered and cared for : neat

2 : large, substantial a tidy sum

tidy

verb

tidied; tidying

Kids Definition of tidy (Entry 2 of 2)

: to make things neat

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